I had been working as a graphic designer and part-time illustrator, but animation held many exciting possibilities for me - being able to tell a story first and foremost.

I first started making moving image work around ten years ago, when the hardware was suddenly affordable: you could make a music video on your home computer. This was quite exciting as there was none of the associated problems you get with design - no printer, no additional costs - i could control and make everything myself.

Now I work with larger teams of people to make projects, but the ability to oversee the creation and building of something from nothing will always be exciting for me. Its a great and surreal feeling to draw a storyboard, and then a few weeks later find yourself standing in the full size set!

How would you define your style?

I try to avoid having a style, and with each project I take on I try and let the idea dictate the aesthetic and medium (eg hand-drawn, stop motion, live action etc). However inevitably a similar sensibility creeps in. For example when it comes to composition, I tend to prefer doing things in quite a straightforward way - and I lay out the elements the same way I would neatly lay out a piece of graphic design, using margins, white space etc. I have recently become semi-obsessed by this blog:

http://thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com

Have you ever had a job that was so stimulating that you could not get your mind off of it?

Every job tends to take over my brain for as long as I'm working on it, as my girlfriend will tell you! You never know when you will get a good idea for something, so i bring a notebook with me everywhere in case something comes up. Smartphones are really handy to scribble down ideas too.

What is the best advertisement you've seen recently?

I really like this advert for MTV I came across the other day, by two Swedish animators collaborating with Stina Löfgren:

http://vimeo.com/16843279

Which software applications do you most utilize in your work?

At the beginning of each project, I use Adobe Indesign to make my storyboard and treatment, then Adobe Photoshop to visualize things. If its a stop motion shoot I use Dragon Stop Motion software, which is really fun and easy to use. Then everything is usually put together with Adobe After Effects. In the last job I did, for Bacardi there was some 3D animation, which was made in Autodesk 3D Studio Max.

If you weren't a video designer, what would you be doing?

I would probably be an illustrator (and not a very good one).

What advice do you have for someone who likes this job and would like to make a living from it?

Start making stuff! Find something you really like, make a film about it and put it online. It could be a music video for a friend's band or a five second idea. Its easier than ever to put your work out there. As far as studying - I found training in graphic design very useful for working in animation, but there are lots of ways you can become an animator and every route is interesting.